The printing process used in many laser printers and other such electro-photographic printers involves creating a latent electrostatic image on a photoconductor and depositing toner on the surface of the photoconductor. The toner adheres to the imaged areas of the photoconductor to form a developed image that is transferred to paper or another print substrate. The toner supply is usually contained in a replaceable cartridge that sometimes also houses the photoconductor and other image development components of the printer.
The section views have been simplified in some instances to better illustrate certain features, for example by omitting some cross-hatching and background structures. The same part numbers are used to designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures.